_Where are the best beaches in Norfolk

What are the best beaches in Norfolk, UK

Breathe in the fresh sea air of tranquil Norfolk on the East coast of England, all ninety miles of it (100 when the tide’s out), walk on unspoiled sand, play cricket or fly a kite, have a picnic, walk the dog, look for bird life and paddle and swim in the shallow surf. You'll find huge expanses of honeyed beaches backed by marram and dunes. Or lay back and relax and watch the scanty clouds skipping across the big blue sky.

How far is Norfolk from the sea?

You’re never far from the beach in Norfolk. Even if you enter Norfolk at Thetford on the A11, you’re only a little more than an hour away.

Are there any sandy beaches in Norfolk?

There are magnificent stretches of sandy beach across Norfolk’s 90 miles of coastline… and they can be enjoyed at every time of the year, not just summer.

What is the nicest beach in Norfolk? Which is the nicest seaside town in Norfolk?

That really depends what kind of beach or seaside town you’re after. Read on and make your decision…

What are the best beaches for families in Norfolk?

Norfolk has four beach resorts should you want something more than just a lovely stretch of sand.

Great Yarmouth beach runs parallel to the Golden Mile so you can wander from the ice cream shack to your deckchair with the minimum of effort. There's crazy golf, trampolines, boat trips, donkey rides, and a huge range of attractions and amusements.

The Pleasure Beach has one of the world’s last wooden rollercoasters without automatic brakes, and The Hippodrome, which has shows throughout the year, is the last complete circus building in the country – and it has a subterranean pool which holds 60,000 gallons of water.

The sandy beach of Cromer is dominated by its Victoria Pier which has the world’s last end-of-pier theatre. This is a great place to eat take-out fish and chips on the Promenade and look out for the eponymous Cromer crab in salads and sandwiches. They’re so tasty because they eat from the world’s longest chalk reef, just offshore. You can learn to surf here too.

Next to Cromer is Sheringham, a picturesque seaside town with beach and great facilities. Home to the north Norfolk steam railway with services to Kelling Heath and Holt, Sheringham also has soaring cliffs and heights – there are great views from neighbouring Beeston Bump.

Hunstanton is known to locals as ‘Sunny Hunny’ and is the only east coast resort that faces west so you get incredible sunsets. Best-known for its stripey cliffs that look like a layered cake, Hunstanton is on the shallow Wash so is great for kitesurfing.

The seafront retains the air of a Victorian seaside resort – unsurprisingly, as it was purpose-built as a bathing resort in 1846. Look to the horizon and you can see Holland... okay, it's Lincolnshire really!

What are the best sandy beaches in Norfolk?

Wells-next-the-Sea has a lovely wide sandy beach, backed by pine wood and featuring two hundred higgledy-piggledy, multi-coloured beach huts. At high tide everyone congregates around the huts and splashes in The Run. At low tide the sea recedes at least a mile and you’re confronted by a huge expanse of sand to play on. But remember the tide comes in quickly so if you hear the hooter, it’s time to come back.

There’s a big car park and beach café which is very dog-friendly and nice walks through the pine wood.

Next to Wells-next-the-Sea is Holkham beach, enormous and totally unspoilt and regularly voted the best beach in the UK. It’s part of the Holkham National Nature Reserve. There's a large car park, managed by the Holkham estate, and then a pleasant walk on boardwalks through the pine woods before you reach the beach proper.

Holkham Bay gained worldwide publicity when it featured in the Gwyneth Paltrow Oscar-winning movie Shakespeare in Love. The Natalie Portman film Annihilation was also filmed on the beach.

The Lookout on Lady Anne’s Drive provides visitors with lavatories, a modest refreshment facility and interpretation on the habitats and wildlife on the reserve.

Burnham Overy Staithe, next to Holkham, has a large expanse of unspoilt sand. If you park on the quay be warned – many people have come back from the long walk to find their car submerged by the rising tide!

Brancaster beach is managed by the National Trust and combines tidal salt marshes at Scolt Head with a huge expanse of sandy beach. Drive up Beach Road in Brancaster, park close to the golf course, and then stride out onto the flat sand.

Norfolk beaches with old world charm

Gorleston-on-Sea, south of Great Yarmouth, has a huge expanse of sandy beach backed by a beach level promenade and a higher one with sports and play facilities and views along the coast with car parks and street parking. Gorleston has good choices for refreshments. It was the Victorians who made it fashionable when the small community had its own railway station, part of the coastal line.

Overstrand, once known as the ‘Village of Millionaires’ thanks to its popularity with affluent families in the late 19th century (Winston Churchill holidayed here with his mother), is just a mile away from the hustle and bustle of Cromer and is a huge expanse of sandy beach. In fact, there’s a cliff-top path from Cromer you can take if you fancy stretching your legs too.

Nearby Mundesley looks as if it's been preserved in aspic, which gives it a unique traditional appeal. There are good facilities on the cliffs, so stock up before heading down the steep steps to the large flat beach. As with Gorleston-on-Sea, the Victorians made it popular with the advent of railways.

Close by is Walcott, again a large expanse of sandy beach.

Where are Norfolk’s ‘hidden’ beaches

On Norfolk’s east coast, north of Great Yarmouth, there’s Caister-on-Sea and Hemsby beaches, both of which have holiday parks, and nearby are Scratby and California, named after the California, USA gold rush because some 16th century gold coins were found on the beach here in 1848.

From there the coastline gets a slightly wilder edge with great sandy beaches and the good chance of seeing a seal or two in the water.

This stretch of the Norfolk coast is being affected by coastal erosion and is constantly changing – that’s why you’ll come across roads that end abruptly where stormy high hides have done their damage!

Winterton-on-Sea has a laid-back vibe with refreshment shacks, toilets, and large car park. There’s a long sandy beach backed by the best sand dune system in Norfolk, worth exploring in themselves. Sights here include the pastel-painted, thatched Hermanus roundhouses and, in winter, a seal colony.

Horsey is tucked down a little track and is without facilities – just peace and quiet. From the top of the marram-covered bank (marram is an original East Anglian word, deriving from Old Norse words for sea and grass) you might be able to spot a few basking seals... if they're not up on the beach, sunbathing. Nearby is National Trust Horsey Windpump.

There’s limited parking at Waxham, Eccles and Cart Gap but each has a sandy beach backed by grassy dunes.

Waxham was voted one of Britain’s 40 best beaches by the Daily Telegraph. There’s a nice café in a converted 16th century barn too.

Eccles’ name comes from the Latin ecclesia meaning church so it’s likely this was an early British Christian site. There’s no longer a church here, just a small community of pre-second world war bungalows called the Bush Estate (an early holiday retreat), but it’s unlikely you’ll encounter many people.

The laying of stone reefs offshore at Sea Palling to protect from coastal erosion has created a unique bay-like beach, with shallow water and few waves, making it perfect for toddlers. Avoid the crowds by the amusements and shops by parking in the car park to the north of the hamlet.

Happisburgh has a large car park from where you can walk on to the wide beach. It was here that scientists discovered the oldest known human footprints outside of the Great Rift Valley, dating back almost one million years, and the earliest evidence of man in the UK – so Norfolk welcomed the country’s first tourists. This was from a time when this was the last stretch of land connected to the Continent.

What are the best Norfolk beaches for birdwatching

As well as Holkham National Nature Reserve, the beaches at Holme Dunes and Titchwell are great for birdwatching. At Titchwell, run by the RSPB, a walk from the excellent visitor centre down to the sandy beach takes you past reedbeds and shallow lagoons, which are often full of birds. Sit on benches or watch from spacious, wheelchair-accessible hides.

Nearby Holme Dunes, run by the Norfolk Wildlife Trust, has a lovely sandy beach and is also known as the site of the discovery in 1998 of Seahenge, a 4000-year-old Bronze Age timber circle that was contemporaneous to Stonehenge. Its story is told at Lynn Museum.